Four months after we first reported on Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner’s impending divorce, the Yellowstone actor and handbag designer are still in the midst of getting all the post-relationship details hammered down and filed away. The Oscar winner was more recently arguing against Baumgartner’s requests for a substantial raise in child support payments, with Costner’s earnings and financial details being scrutinized in court. Thankfully for the Dances with Wolves helmer, the judge presiding over the case sided with him and denied the appeal for larger payments, which he followed up by explaining why things went the way they did.
Santa Barbara County Judge Thomas P. Anderle was the one presiding over the two-day hearing that addressed paperwork Baumgartner’s legal team submitted that sought to raise Costner’s monthly child support payments from $129,000 to $161,000. Rather than allowing for those terms, Anderle eventually sided with Costner and actually reduced those stipends to $63,209 per month. In the week after the “contentious” and “acrimonious” hearing was resolved, the judge released a 17-page summary explaining why he denied Baumgartner’s request, per ET.
While he deemed Christine Baumgartner to have “good courtroom demeanor,” and said he doesn’t believe that she made her requests with inappropriate intentions, the way she went about arguing her case didn’t sit right with him, and thus wasn’t a successful way to make her point known. Specifically, she hired a forensic accountant who picked apart Costner’s income and claimed he’s bringing in $1.5 million a month, and thus should easily be able to make higher child support payments.
However, because that total included the income that Kevin Costner was copping for Yellowstone, it was argued that it didn’t fully represent the actor’s current and future earnings, now that it’s long been confirmed that the Paramount Network drama is ending with Season 5. This was at the crux of the argument from the actor’s own forensic accountant, who said that while Costner’s Dutton-bolstered income was more than $1.3 million per month, that total drops down to around $468,000 when Yellowstone is no longer part of the equation. Thus, the analyst did not think his most recent TV pay should have been factored into the child support arguments.
Kevin Costner's Wallet Might Be Lighter After His Divorce, But It’s Not The Only Thing
And the judge deemed that angle to be the more convincing one, as he sided with Costner in the end, saying that Christine Baumgartner’s theory wasn’t inherently dishonest, but still didn’t move the needle. The Friday after the hearing is when the Horizon filmmaker was first responsible for supplying the $63,209 support payment, and it was noted he’ll also be responsible for their three kids’ healthcare, insurance, private school tuition and other educational costs, extracurricular activities, vehicle costs and other specific needs and requirements. One issue that still needs to be handled is legal fees and court costs, but that’s for a different time.
Barring any further disputes and/or requests, Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner’s divorce appears as if it will be completely settled by the end of the year, as the court anticipates the case will be completed by December 2023.. Will we actually get to see anything from the back half of Season 5 or any other upcoming Yellowstone shows? Not very likely, with the writers and actors strikes still ongoing.
In the meantime, all four-and-a-half seasons of the western-tinged drama can be streamed in full with a Peacock subscription.
